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Yesterday morning I dropped my younger child off at the airport so she could head back to college for the beginning of her sophomore year. A few days earlier, my husband left for his sabbatical, a round-the-world adventure. Except for a brief cameo appearance around Thanksgiving, he'll be gone for the better part of six months.

All of a sudden, it's very quiet around here.

I'll be fine; I'm an introvert, and spending stretches of time on my own doesn't phase me. My older daughter lives close by, and she is excellent company. I have wonderful friends. Of course, spending this stretch of time on my own is not my first choice. Living with people you love is a gift. One of the best.

But there are advantages! I've spent the last several decades shaping my lifestyle and my schedule around my husband and kids. With nobody else here, I can do exactly what I want, the way I want to do it, pretty much all the time.

I can stock the freezer with the flavors of ice cream that I like! Forget these dumb fruity flavors. Black raspberry and lemon: YOU'RE FIRED!

Look, I have nothing against fruit. I love fruit! My point is, if you want fruit, you should eat a piece of fruit. If you want ice cream, you should eat it the way God intended: flavored with a caffeinated beverage.

If it has chocolate bits suspended in it -- so much the better!

Chunky Monkey: now there's a worthwhile ice cream option!

What's that? Bananas are a fruit? Well, quibble if you must. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.

The point is, now I can make my bed as soon as I get up in the morning. And it will stay made the whole day.

Under normal circumstances, when I make the bed as soon as I get up in the morning, Steve is still in it. Over time I have found that this strategy has certain disadvantages from both his perspective and mine.

I am a major tea drinker. I drink coffee, too (especially when it is suspended in ice cream -- see above), but really, I down large quantities of tea. For some years, I have been buying single-estate Assams from Upton Teas, a Massachusetts Purveyor of Fine Teas. Assams are strong, dark teas, breakfast-style. Really, these single-estate teas all taste pretty much the same; but it's a small luxury and choosing the teas keeps me entertained on boring conference calls.

In my normal life, I favor the quick-brewing, broken-leaf varieties -- you can get a fine cup in about three minutes:

But now I am thinking of branching out to the whole-leaf varieties, which are a little finer-flavored (or so they say; to be honest, I can't really tell) but take longer to steep.

Yes, that's correct: I may steep my tea for four minutes! Or even five.